Is it Worth attending Market Research Trade Fairs?
The recent Research and Results event in Munich is the only research trade fair I go to - a mixture or talks and booths, I've attended every year since 2011. So it's clearly got pulling power, is a great place to network, admission is free - but is it worth it from a business perspective?
There seemed plenty of post show success-signalling this year - exhibitors thanking everyone on LinkedIn for all the fantastic conversations they had - mixed in with more sceptical voices, some in public, some off-the-record. Light and shade.
My take? Good; room for improvement ;) Some things that struck me:
- 2019 was certainly busy - lots of visitors there on both days, long queues for the talks running in parallel. Record attendance, apparently, with around 3.400 visitors over two days.
- R&R has become more international - there are notably more suppliers from outside Europe. Refreshing - but often of limited relevance.
- Full-service providers seem outnumbered by a mix of panel and service providers - reporting software that helps turn raw data into ready-to-go PPT slides, for example. So there seems a bulge lower down the value chain.
- Of the companies listed in Top 50 most innovative suppliers in the 2019 GRIT Report, only 10 had booths, in my analysis - so the most innovative MR global voices weren't present.
- Whilst it's great to meet people you already know, the ability to link up with potential clients remains limited to booking a stand and giving a paper - there is no speed-dating, or an app facilitating pre-conference hook-ups.
Overall it was a very familiar experience - with the pros and cons associated with that. Certainly it's great to see that MR continues to be a place where plenty of folk turn up - the MR ndustry is alive and kicking.
But is the future of MR showing its face - the place where the true game-changers are showcased? Quite a few important innovative global suppliers - System1, Qualtrics, Voxpopme to name just a few - were absent.
Which makes one wonder if the "marketplaces" these types of companies are looking to profile themselves are different ones - in the world of Marketing and/or Tech maybe. Is the music playing elsewhere?
In summary. R&R remains a great place for networking, Meeting people in person that one has hooked up with on Social Media. And there are always a few new ideas one comes away with.
So: thanks to the organisers! Here's to 2020 - and to an innovative coming 12 months.
Curious, as ever, as to others' views.